A couple of weeks ago, while putting together an annual New Year's collection of memorable quotes, I stumbled onto this column I wrote 10 years ago this month - in which I laid out some dreams, both serious and lighthearted, for what might happen in 2004. Looking back, it was interesting to see the way some of those hopes played out.

Some results were encouraging; others, heartbreaking.

Others, 10 years later, remain unresolved.

Here's the column, edited for space; I'd like to hear your thoughts. The italicized thoughts are reflections I wrote today, a decade later:

In Syracuse, Not-So-Impossible Dreams for the New Year

The Post-Standard
Jan. 2, 2004

For this fresh New Year, wouldn't it be nice if Central New Yorkers got a chance to see:

An end to misery and death in Iraq and Afghanistan? Sectarian violence is still causing bloodshed and suffering in both nations; young American servicemen and women remain at war in Afghanistan.

The safe return of our sons and daughters, serving abroad? The American military formally ended its role in Iraq in December 2011, at a ceremony attended by defense secretary Leon Panetta. Americans are still fighting in Afghanistan; a "drawdown" is underway, with a NATO-led coalition scheduled to end its combat mission in December, some 13 years after U.S. involvement began.

Services last year for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Francis G. Phillips IV, at the United Methodist Church in Auburn. Phillips was killed in Afghanistan, along with four other Americans, when a bomb exploded near their armored vehicle. The war began more than 12 years ago.Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com

A respectful solution to the furor over a Midland Avenue sewage treatment plant? The plant was built, to the dismay of many opponents in the neighborhood. But the furor contributed to a decision by Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney to abandon a similar plant in Armory Square in favor of a "Save the Rain" initiative.

The full restoration of the crumbling downtown OnTrack bridges in Syracuse, done in the same way as the newly repaired walls of the old New York Central bridge on South Geddes Street? Nationally known artist Steve Powers painted the old bridges at West and Fayette streets; the Rescue Mission hired Ken Burke to paint the bridge that spans West Onondaga Street. But the cement walls of the railroad, envisioned in the 1930s as a deco-styled interconnected piece of art, continue to crumble. As for OnTrack, the local passenger service went belly-up.

More downtown parking lot operators - and more store owners and pizza shop operators, for that matter - who take 10 minutes a day to clean their properties, just to be good citizens? You tell me if you think this has happened.

Traffic signals at Clinton Square that actually give pedestrians enough time to cross the street? Those stressful signals still begin to flash a warning sign almost before the average person has time to walk across the street.

An appropriate basketball celebration to mark the 50th anniversary, in August, of the introduction of the game-changing 24-second clock - first used in a scrimmage at Blodgett School in Syracuse? In 2005, with the help of an anonymous donor, a shot clock monument was unveiled at Armory Square; the clock monument, proposed by Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes, eternally counts down from 24.

A groundbreaking for any part of the Destiny USA project that does not involve a parking ramp or a tax-free hotel? After years of rancor, Destiny finally built what it originally described as the first phase of its proposed expansion, which triggered a 30-year tax break. The place is often packed, although it falls short of the Disneyesque proposals once made for the area.

Destiny USA: Expanded, often crowded, but not the original plan.Kevin Rivoli | krivoli@syracuse.com

Christmas lights on the prominent State Tower Building, to match the beautiful holiday lighting on other downtown landmarks? Tony Fiorito, owner of the building, said it's one of his dreams to illuminate the building, which had exterior lights during its heyday in the 1920s and '30s; the issue, he said, is finding a way to pay for it.

Another thrilling NCAA tournament run for the Syracuse University basketball Orange? While the men's team has not won another national championship, the program is consistently among the best in the nation; a year ago, the Orange went to the Final Four.

A developer willing to do the right kind of restoration on the Hotel Syracuse? In a maddening twist, developer Ed Riley says he wants to spend $57 million to revive the downtown landmark. But the city is struggling to wrest control of the property from an Israeli company that has controlled the hotel - and basically allowed it to crumble - since 2004.

A banner in the Carrier Dome for the 1959 SU championship football team that matches the flashy banner for the championship basketball team? The dome is a considerably brighter place - packed with banners, signs and images - than it was in 2004, when the dominant color was gray.

Fans of the Syracuse Crunch: The team lost to Grand Rapids for the Calder Cup, but a Syracuse team made it to the American Hockey League finals for the first time since 1938.Mike Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com

A continuing municipal commitment to weekly cleanups of downtown interstate entrance and exit ramps, notably the neglected points where West Street meets Interstate 690, as guaranteed in written agreements with community-minded private sponsors? The interstates look awful; they're a civic embarrassment. The state abandoned an annual contract for cleaning Interstates 81 and 690. While there have been occasional signs of a cooperative cleanup effort, no plan is yet in place to maintain the interstates - although models exist in many communities.

Swift progress toward the new children's hospital, which could send such wonderful ripples through our community? The Golisano Children's Hospital opened in 2009, in Syracuse.

A renewed appreciation for the extraordinary nature of Armory Square, the kind of thriving downtown district so many other cities only wish they could create? Armory Square remains the template for downtown revival; planners are trying to spread some of its energy onto nearby South Salina Street.

Some company making a commitment in Syracuse similar to what Geico is doing in Buffalo, where the insurance giant wants to create 2,500 jobs? If anything has been made clear by the loss of such operations as New Process Gear, the economic future of the region depends on smaller, resilient, creative initiatives. That said, a big outfit - with a lot of jobs - would still be nice.

Trash along Interstate 81, at a main gateway to Syracuse: The community still has no disciplined, specific beautification plan.Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

A coherent, logical and historically sound philosophy from Albany on Six Nations issues, rather than a helter-skelter shell game that involves fighting land claims tooth and nail in the courts and sending mixed signals about the volatile matter of collecting state taxes - while simultaneously dropping Indian casinos into depressed areas across the state? This unending story is always at the core of regional history: The state won a series of major decisions in federal court, upending several monumental legal victories for the Six Nations. Last year, amid state efforts to open several Upstate casinos, the Cuomo administration and the Oneida Nation came to an agreement over operation of the Turning Stone casino.

An across-the-board community commitment to changing lives in our neediest neighborhoods, a commitment based on the same civic call for selflessness that our leaders normally reserve for speeches about war? Poverty and questions of education remain the issues central to the well-being and future of the city of Syracuse.

A "biggest foot in the world" contest as a means of spotlighting our own unique Brannock Co., whose world-famous foot-measuring device is being threatened by low-cost knockoffs from abroad? The Brannock Co., a decade later, is still going - and still here.

Well-deserved consumer support for two new Fulton chocolate companies, set to open in buildings deserted by Nestle? The initiative fell apart. Fulton is still suffering. It remains painful to recall how Nestle, at a time of massive profits, shut down the oldest milk chocolate factory in this nation.

A winter that ends in March, not early May? Two years ago, we had a ridiculously mild winter that included 80 degree days in March. The result? Such ravaged crops as a terrible apple harvest. It was a reminder: A long winter and lots of snow can be emotionally tough, but it is also the way we get our lush, green summers and big harvest.

A program in the city schools, using municipal ice rinks, that provides every child with a free chance to learn to skate? It hasn't happened. The question remains: If some donor with deep-pockets stepped forward with the money, what better way to make a statement about fitness - and fun - in the snowiest large city in the United States?

Lesson learned in the freakishly warm winter of 2011: A hot March might be pleasant, but it's the worst that can happen to our usually abaundant apple crop.Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Registered voters in Central New York who actually vote? Then and now, it often depends on the election. But an awful lot of people still don't bother to show up.

The overdue induction of Raymond Seals, a local guy who skipped college but went on to play in a Super Bowl, into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame? Still hasn't happened. Still a mystery. While they're at it at the local hall, how about inducting the late Leo Ferris, a Syracuse guy who helped to found the National Basketball Association?

Visits to Central New York by Bush and other leading candidates for president, in which they actually project some knowledge of the region? President Obama came to Syracuse to speak last summer at Henninger High School. Obama was making an Upstate push on education; he spoke generally about educational needs, and said little specifically about the region.

A peaceful and prosperous New Year for all readers of this column? This one, I hope came true for all of you.
- Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Post-Standard